The Crumbling Prince
by the road I know
Summary: "Fighting, torture, revenge, beasts, friendship, loyalty, true love, miracles, and happy-endings for all who deserve them." The story of Kakashi, Team 7, the Shinobi Union, unexpected love, sweeping friendships, and the events that take place in the year after the Fourth Shinobi War.
1. Chapter 1 - The Sixth Hokage

Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Naruto world. I do not claim any ownership over them or the world of Naruto.

Part 1

 **The Land of Fangs**

 **牙の国**

* * *

"When the Master of the Great Land dwelt here,

there came riding on the crest of the waves in a boat

a deity dressed in skins of geese who, when asked his name, replied not.

Then the toad spoke, saying, "As for this, the Crumbling Prince will surely know it."

Then the Master of the Great Land summoned the Crumbling Prince,

who is known by the people as the scarecrow in the mountain fields,

a deity, though his legs do not walk,

knows everything in the Empire."

From the Kojiki, the Record of Ancient Matters

* * *

 **Chapter 1 The Sixth Hokage**

He knew they believed his face would soon be carved into the towering rock wall at his back, a sixth colossus to stand sentry over the village hidden in the leaves, but it was not to be; he would not be the one to continue the legacy of those five former titans of Konohagakure. He stood now before the doors of the Hokage Tower but only half saw the dusty main road that stretched from his feet toward the village's imposing green gates and the horizon beyond. In the time he had been inside, the sun had dipped below those great stone heads and now twilight hung hushed over Konoha's roads. Street lamps flickered on throughout the village and behind him golden spotlights illuminated the resolute faces of the five stone Hokage whose ranks Kakashi hoped never to join.

He closed his eyes and inhaled the evening October air with its scents of crisp autumn leaves, of spiced cider, cinnamon, pumpkin, and chestnut from the nearby sweet shop, and the smoke of charcoal from the Yakiniku barbeque. His breath came out in a deep sigh. Lady Tsunade would find someone who was more suited to the responsibility, he knew, and until then, she was perfectly capable of keeping the job herself. She was more than capable, in fact, of remaining Hokage until Naruto could take over.

This had not been the first time she asked him, and he knew it wouldn't be the last. He knew she was weary of her position, and that the physical and emotional remnants of the war must be almost unbearable to her, but she had to know he wasn't the answer. He was more than willing to continue on as advisor, and an agent of Konoha's might, but he could not carry the torch of the highest office.

He and his team had barely stumbled through the village gates after the end of the war when she had first asked him, and it was clear his refusal then had annoyed her more than it had surprised her. He had turned down the offer with as much politeness and humility as he could summon but he could tell she attributed the resistance to his general weariness and aversion to responsibility more than anything else.

It must explain why today it had been an order. And today, his refusal had been much less polite. She had lost what tremulous hold on her temper remained and thundered at his insubordination, while he had stood silent against the gale. She had then cajoled and criticized him in turns, but when she saw that he still refused to budge, she had accused him of laziness and a dereliction of the duty he owed to Konohagakure and the Land of Fire. He had only stared at her, hands in his pockets, and asked if he was free to leave.

In truth, Kakashi's refusal had nothing to do with laziness or his distaste for responsibility. No, he knew even if Tsunade didn't, that his desperate unwillingness to take on the role of Hokage had everything to do with his sense of duty to the village and country he loved. He felt in his bones that he wasn't right for the role. That his leadership was not what Konoha needed. His mistakes had already cost too many lives and ruined too many others, and like Obito had said, he was tired of making excuses in front of graves. Let her think he was lazy, or that he'd rather read his novels. It was enough that he knew he was protecting Konoha by leaving it in her hands.

He pushed his hands deeper into his pockets and started to walk. His apartment was at the far end of the village and unfortunately, his current favorite book was there too. Its words would have been a welcome distraction from Tsunade's, which continued to run through his mind. Was she right? Did he have a duty to accept the position, despite his reservations? Kakashi knew she and the others saw something in him, something more than the sum of his years of service, or his successful missions, or his command of the Third Division during the war. Maybe he did have whatever it was. But it didn't matter. All he could think of were the countless men and women he'd need to send in to battle once he was Hokage, all the deaths that would be on his hands. "I'm not a role model," he had told her. "I'm a cautionary tale."

With an effort of will, Kakashi pushed his thoughts from his mind and looked around. Konoha was beautiful in any month, but never so much as it was in October, when it was a golden marvel as brilliant and ablaze with color as any fabled city of myth or legend. The maples and ginkgo trees were a concert of vivid crimsons and golds and lingering greens, and the scents of sweets and chestnut rice hung on the air and breathed around every corner. The shops and stands of the main street's bustling night market smelled of savory korokke, and autumn fruits, and gyoza on sticks, and were full with the sounds of crisp leaves underfoot and the ringing of games. A group of academy students huddled before one stand, laughing with their attempts to scoop goldfish with paper pois.

Konoha was a festival in October, and this October more than any before, it was alive with the heady joy of peace. Everyone wanted to be out and together. Everyone he passed hailed him with a bow and a "Good evening Hatake-sama." Many stopped to talk. With each greeting, he was left feeling slightly embarrassed at the formality, and with each conversation, he itched to find a quick escape. He couldn't get home soon enough.

But the main street that led home soon took him past Ichiraku Ramen. Orange light from the small restaurant spilled onto the dim street and three familiar backsides were visible through the restaurant's flaps. This time Kakashi willingly stopped and smiled. Bathed in the warm glow from the restaurant's lamps, he saw Sakura turn toward Naruto and Sai with a grin. The best and brightest of Konoha.

As he was about to turn and walk on, Sakura caught a glimpse of him and immediately hailed him with an enthusiastic "Kakashi-sensei!" He lifted his hand in a wave, as Naruto too turned and grinned and let out his own excited "Kakashi-sensei!" It was a better distraction than most, Kakashi supposed, and he ducked under the flaps to take the stool beside Naruto.

"Are you coming back from your meeting with Granny Tsunade?" Naruto asked. "Should we be calling you Lord Hokage yet?"

"Naruto, I told you before. You'll never have to address me as Lord Hokage." He looked at the young ninja with a smile, and clapped him on the back. "The next Hokage will be you."

Sai raised an eyebrow, and Sakura laughed. "Kakashi-sensei, I thought you cared about the future of this village."

"Wow, thanks Sakura," Naruto said, scowling, then laughing. "You know I'd be the best Hokage this village has ever seen!" But before the others could respond, he turned to Kakashi. "But seriously, Sensei, what are you thinking? Are you holding out for more pay or something?"

Chuckling, Kakashi looked at Naruto. "Ah, I didn't think of that excuse. I'll have to use it next time."

"I think you'd be a good Hokage," Sai said.

"Yeah, Sensei," Sakura leaned forward so that she could look past Sai and Naruto to meet Kakahi's eyes. "I don't know of anyone who cares more about the people of this village than you do. None of us would be here today if it wasn't for you."

Kakashi looked at her. "Has Lady Tsunade put you up to this?"

"No, Sensei!" Sakura responded, looking offended. "I mean what I said!"

"Well, Sakura, I appreciate your vote of confidence, but really, there are many more suitable candidates than your old sensei."

Naruto spoke up then. "Sensei?"

"Hmm, Naruto?"

Naruto paused, looking momentarily down at his ramen. "Right now, there's no one more suitable to take Granny Tsunade's place than you." And rubbing the back of his head with his hand and looking uncomfortable, he raised his eyes to Kakashi's. "I mean, I'm just not ready for it, you know. And until I'm ready, I wouldn't trust this village to anyone else but you."

Kakashi opened his mouth to respond with another dismissive comment, but before he could speak, he was met with the simultaneous steady gaze of all three shinobi.

"You might not be up to the requirements of the position yet," Sai began.

Kakashi raised both eyebrows at the boy, still not accustomed to his unique combination of perception and lack of tact. But then Sai continued. "But I'm part of your team now. And as part of your team, I'm here for anything you need."

Kakashi was surprised, and unexpectedly touched.

"No matter what," Sai finished.

Then Sakura spoke up. "Me too, Sensei. No matter what."

"Yeah, Sensei, no matter what, you know!" Naruto said, through a mouthful of barbeque pork. "And I know Sasuke feels the same."

After a pause, Kakashi shook his head and smiled. "What will I do with you three?" He stood to leave and they all smiled up at him in return with expressions somehow combining admiration and admonishment, and for a moment he felt overwhelmed with emotion and wondered if Obito had been right all along.

Later that night, he lay awake for a long while, fingers interlaced beneath his head as he stared up at the ceiling without seeing. Ever since Tsunade had first asked him to become the next Hokage, he had gone to sleep the same way. Staring up at the ceiling, looking back on his life, trying to see the future, and more than either, struggling to decide what he should do. For even though he had refused the appointment twice, and his mind had revolted a hundred times more from the idea, he knew the matter was not at an end. Not when he went to sleep every night with the image of Obito's face as he stood near death in the last battle of the war. "Kakashi," he had said. "You stay here a little while longer. You must survive and support the next generation."

He thought of his team, of Naruto and Sakura and Sai, and of Sasuke, who sat alone in the Konoha jail awaiting trial. He thought of what they had all been through over the years, and what they had come to mean to him. He had never told them, but they were everything to him. They were dynamic, courageous, energetic and passionate, and they made his useless life, full of mistakes and regrets, worth living.

He thought of the comrades he had grown up with, those who still lived, and those who had given everything in service to the village. He had fought beside so many, in battle after battle that took lives and ravished the land and destroyed villages, and that were somehow still considered victories. They had all given so much. Was it possible for anyone to bring the cycle of conflict to a permanent end?

But the thoughts that overshadowed all the others were those of days gone by, of forgotten rooms and old photographs, the magic of long ago dreams and half-remembered conversations, and of all the firsts and lasts of his life. The residue surrounded him, the air thick with ghosts. He regretted so many things, and didn't want to add another to the list. More than anything, he wanted to be what the last few people he loved in the world thought he was.

They had grown up, like him, believing in heroes. Those warrior shinobi, the ones who were able to protect entire ways of life, and those few in his lifetime like the Third and Fourth Hokages. Did such heroes exist anymore? Is that what Tsunade, his comrades, and his team expected him to be? Tormented with these thoughts, hours passed before he finally drifted into a restless and troubled sleep.

He awoke before dawn the next morning, and as he had done for over fifteen years, he showered, dressed, ate, and walked to the Memorial Stone that stood in the Third Training Grounds. For a long while, he stood silent, looking at the familiar names, his hands in his pockets. The morning was cool, the grass wet with dew and the air heavy with the mist of the hazy autumn morning. "Obito, they want me to be the Hokage." He sighed. "It should be you."

He had found Obito alive after all those years, and had fought against him and then fought alongside him. And in the end, they all owed their lives to him. Those memories would forever be some of the worst and best of Kakashi's life. But now Obito was gone again, and it hurt worse than it had when they were children. He was the one who should be the Sixth. It had been his dream. Just like it had always been Naruto's. Obito would expect him to accept the role unquestioningly, with a sense of honor and duty. Just as Naruto did. And he remembered Obito's last words to him. "You know how I told Naruto to become Hokage? I meant to say as the Seventh. You be the Sixth Hokage, Kakashi."

He supposed each evening had brought him closer to the decision that a part of him, even on that first meeting with Tsunade, had known was inevitable. And each morning had brought him closer to acceptance. On this morning, clarity finally came with the sun. He didn't feel ready, or capable, but he felt the will of Fire, and knew that his only choice was the one before him. "I wish you were here with me Obito. How am I going to protect all of them?"

Shortly afterward, Kakashi walked once again down the main street of the village, past the dark and silent restaurants and shuttered businesses, down the tree-lined avenue and up to the steps of the Hokage Tower. His feet took him steadily up the spiral staircase toward the Hokage's office and with each step, with each pound of his heart against his chest, his decision felt more right. He reached Tsunade's door and knocked.

"Come in," he heard a tired voice call from within. He entered, and raised his eyebrows at the sight before him. Tsunade sat before her desk, her head in her arms, which were crossed and sprawled out over its surface. She slowly raised her head, and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "Kakashi," she said, squinting at him, and then quickly grimaced. "Ugh, my head," she muttered, laying it back on her arms. "What do you want?"

"I came to tell you that I've reached a decision. But first I want to thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve our village," he said. "Like all the shinobi who came before us, the people of this village are precious to me. Though we may not share ties of blood, they are my family."

Tsunade raised her head again, a confused expression on her face. "What are you saying, Kakashi? Because it's really too early for this poetry nonsense," she said, again squinting, her words mumbled as she spoke around the hand holding her head up.

"What I'm saying is that if the position of Sixth Hokage is still open, I'll accept it. I've come to realize it's my duty."

Tsunade then straightened, and finally met his eyes squarely. Her arm fell to the desk with a thud, and a slow smile spread across her face. "It's about damn time."

And this time, the masked jonin, with the unreadable face, returned her smile.

* * *

Six months later, Kakashi stood before the Hokage Tower, and looked out over and beyond it, at the towering cliff faces of the previous Hokages that loomed over the village. The village stone carver hung suspended up there, high in the air and chipping away at the vast expanse of rock cliff that would become his face on the Hokage Rock. The bearded man clutched at the metal railing of the suspended scaffolding with one hand as the afternoon wind howled past the cliff, sweeping his metal cage in a wide arc. The scaffolding swung back and forth and gradually settled again before the great stone wall, and the stone carver pulled his hammer and chisel from the pouch at his waste to begin tapping away again at the cliff rock. Kakashi imagined he could hear the sharp rings of the iron tools against the stone. How long would it take, he wondered, for his face to be carved into the rock up there?

Grimacing slightly beneath his mask, he put his head down and walked into the building. His entry into the Hokage's office was met with a glance of acknowledgment and a jerk of the head to the chair before her desk. Tsunade then returned her fingers to her temples and continued to read over the day's mission requests and news.

"Anything interesting?" he asked and walked around to sit in front of her desk, taking his hands out of his pockets and crossing them behind his head as he leaned back in the chair. She looked tired, he thought as he looked at Tsunade's face, her eyes downcast on the stacks of papers before her on the desk.

"The usual," she muttered. "D-rank construction work from the Land of Lightning and the Land of Hot Water, a few C-rank escort missions. Mission requests have been declining steadily since the war."

Kakashi's thoughts turned to the looming responsibility before him, and again marveled at how he had let himself get roped into it. He supposed in a detached way that he would have continued to decline the appointment in another world, but in this world such choices were not his to make. He was a tool of his village and his decision to accept the appointment had ultimately been forced upon him by what he was and who he was and the world he lived in. His will to protect his village and country and its place in the newly formed Shinobi Union was part of his identity and as much as he detested the responsibility and doubted his abilities, he had no choice but to accept the duty. It wasn't for him to question the whys, or whether any of it was right or wrong. It just was. But he wasn't Naruto. He had never wanted to be the Hokage and still didn't, and even though he no longer questioned it as his duty, he wanted to put it off for as long as possible. And as long as the sitting Hokage was willing to humor him and delay the inevitable, he would let her.

She looked up at him then, and while the lines of her face may have revealed the stress of the last year, her eyes now held a fiery spark as she turned them on his. "Look at this," she said, and taking the scroll she had just read in one hand, she pushed it across the table toward him. He pulled his hands from behind his head and let the front legs of the chair fall forward to land on the floor with a thud as he reached out for the paper. It was a request for assistance, but it wasn't from a local or foreign villager, or from the head of a small village needing basic assistance. It was an official cable from the Land of Earth, labeled secret, and signed by the Tsuchikage.

He looked up, surprised, at Tsunade. "From Iwa?" he asked, eyebrows raised, before looking down to read. If he had formed any idea of what to expect as he began to read the message, it still didn't prepare him for what the words before him actually conveyed.

"My dear Lady Hokage,

It is with grateful thanks that I again acknowledge the gifts that have been extended to our country from Konoha since the Fourth War and I express again the gratitude of the people of the Land of Earth.

But I have a more important and pressing purpose in addressing you, and it is to apprise you of a rapidly deteriorating situation taking place within the borders of our southern neighbor, the Land of Fangs. The Daimyo of that Land has been assassinated by his own shinobi, his government dismantled and a shinobi government put in its place, and its civilian population placed into forced labor or killed.

Although the hostilities were at first perceived to be a local disturbance with no large-scale implications for neighboring countries or the Shinobi union, the situation there has rapidly deteriorated. In the last month, Fang shinobi forces have infiltrated the Land of Claws and the Claw capitol of Toba is now under siege. The Claw has called on my country for help, and it is apparent that the discord between the Fang and the Claw, which as you know has been going on since the borders were established after the First War, has reached a crisis.

But even with these events, I would not have troubled you, but for the circumstances surrounding a diplomatic envoy of our Stone shinobi that was sent to the Fang last week. The envoy, whose arrival was expected by the new Fang government, was ambushed and attacked just outside the Fang's capitol city of Fushimi by an official contingent of Fang shinobi.

Now, as you know, under normal circumstances, it would be nothing for the shinobi of our country to quiet such a barbarous mob of worthless nin. However, during the ambush at Fushimi, one of the enemy shinobi was surrounded by powerful chakra that could only be a beast cloak. This fear was realized when the shinobi was near death and the tailed beast was extracted from his body and sealed into another Fang shinobi right on the battlefield. But after almost complete loss of lives on both sides, this shinobi was captured and is now being held at Iwakagure prison. Despite repeated and increasingly targeted questioning, however, our Intelligence has been unable to extract any information from the prisoner.

I need not say that your country's assistance in this regard, and in discussing long term action, will be gratefully and immediately accepted. We therefore humbly request the assistance of Konohakagure, and specifically Uzumaki Naruto, in extracting information from the prisoner.

Best wishes and respect, Kamizuru Onoki"

Kakashi looked up to find Tsunade's eyes on him. Their eyes met as he reached forward to hand the scroll back to her. "How did they get a tailed beast?" he said, leaning back in his chair again, weighing the implications in his mind.

"I don't know, but I won't tolerate a threat to the union or the reconstruction, certainly not from the barbarians of the Land of Fangs." Tsunade said. She then gave him a grim smile that didn't reach her tired eyes. "And you are apparently again off the hook here for the immediate future. I need your team out there as soon as possible. How soon can you get Naruto and Sakura and set out?"

As much as Kakashi did not like the idea of heading out to the wastelands of the Earth or Fang or the as-yet unforeseeable consequences of the events taking place there, he was relieved to be assigned to a mission that would take him far from the Hokage's office. "One hour," he replied, and letting the chair legs fall to the floor again, he stood up, took the scroll from Tsunade, and walked out of the office.


	2. Chapter 2 - Team Seven

**Chapter 2 Team Seven**

Forty-five minutes later, Kakashi leaned against one of the outer gates of Konoha, one foot propped behind him against the faded and splintered green wood, and turned a page of his book. Before he had stopped at Naruto's apartment, he had swung by the hospital to notify Sakura of the mission, and now, after having grabbed the pack he always had ready at his own apartment, he relaxed against the gate to leisurely enjoy a chapter before the others met him. He had just begun to read when he heard Sakura's voice hail him, "Kakashi Sensei!"

He looked up from the pages of his novel and smiled at her as she approached. She drew up beside him, each of her hands holding a strap of the backpack that was wrapped around her shoulders, and returned his smile. She looked carefree and relaxed, as if they were simply meeting for dinner. She let the pack slide from her back to the ground, sunk onto it, and leaned her back against the gate. With her forearms resting on her knees, hands hanging relaxed, she looked up at him, earnest and almost relieved. "Did you know I haven't been out of the village in six months? I need this. And it will be like old times in a way." She paused, "But what is this all about?" Peace had continued in the months after the war, and missions for upper-level ninja, especially medics, were rare.

When Kakashi had interrupted her at the hospital, her head buried in a patient's chart, he had revealed nothing but that they had been assigned to a mission that might last three weeks and they were leaving in an hour. He thought it best to keep the details minimal until he could get the team together. At Naruto's he had merely told him to finish his ramen, pack for a three-week intelligence-interrogation mission, and meet in forty-five minutes. Naruto had jumped up from his table, almost upsetting the bowl in his excitement, and demanded details. Kakashi had laughed, waved his hand, and said he'd brief them on the details when they were all together. He knew Naruto's temper would explode when he learned even the sparse details of the mission and he would need all the help he could get from Sakura to reign in the response that would come from him.

"Let's wait for Naruto so that I don't have to explain twice." Kakashi said to Sakura after a pause.

"Ok," she said. She then exhaled a relaxed breath, leaned her head back against the wood, and brought her eyes down to look at her own gloved hands, "I wish Sasuke could be here too."

Kakashi reached down and ruffled the pink head beside him. "I do too Sakura." A not-uncomfortable silence settled around them before Kakashi said, "Have you heard from him?" She didn't look up, but he could see the pink rise to her cheeks as he looked down at her.

"Yes," she said softly. "He's been traveling through the Land of Hot Water." She didn't say any more, and Kakashi didn't ask. He wondered if more was going on between his two former students than he had guessed and, knowing that Sakura would never give up on the guy, he took a second to hope that Sasuke had started opening up to her more and reciprocating some of her affection. He had once seen a part of himself in Sasuke and hoped it wasn't too late for the younger ninja to move beyond his troubled past. Even as Kakashi thought this, he knew it might be too late, if his own life was any indicator. But if Kakashi had wanted to think more on the subject, he would have been interrupted, as he caught a flash of orange from the corner of his eye and looked up to see Naruto walking quickly toward them. Naruto's left hand held the strap of the pack slung over his shoulder while his right sleeve hung loose and empty from the elbow.

"Kakashi-sensei! Sakura-chan!" Naruto shouted with a grin on his face. "Team 7 almost together again, you know! Let's stop on the way and get Sasuke to join us!" Before Kakashi could respond, he saw Sakura's head jerk up to look at Naruto, and then back at himself. "Are we going near the Land of Hot Water?" she asked, standing up to greet Naruto, and Kakashi imagined from her breathless tone that her heart rate must have skyrocketed 50 points at least.

"The Land of Hot Water?" Naruto asked, as he enveloped Sakura in a one-armed bear hug and spun her around. "Is that where he is now?" And setting her down to turn to Kakashi, he asked, "Is that where we're going? Yeah, the old Team 7 on a mission again!"

"Wait, wait, you two." Kakashi closed his book and put it in his back pocket as he held the other hand up as if to halt both of their thoughts. "First, we're going nowhere near the Land of Hot Water." He continued, even as he saw both of their expressions drop, "and second, you're both acting like a couple of excited Genin. Listening to you, someone might think you were about to set out on your first mission out of the academy."

Not being one to be discouraged for long, Naruto's face broke out in a grin again, and he snickered, "Well, Kakashi-sensei, I am a Genin." Before Kakashi could answer, Sakura grabbed her pack and, swinging it onto her shoulders, she smiled and narrowed her eyes at Naruto, "you wouldn't be if you would stop goofing around and finish your studies! At this rate, Konohamuru will be a Jonin before you!"

"Aww, Sakura-chan," Naruto said, and feigned a wounded tone, "how am I supposed to spend hours reading stupid history books when everyone else is out going on missions or having fun?"

"Sakura is right, Naruto." Kakashi said. As Naruto's smile faded a bit, Kakashi continued, "but you're getting your mission time now, so I expect you to be fresh and ready for some heavy studying when we return."

"Both of you really know how to kill a guy's excitement," Naruto grunted.

"I don't know," Kakashi said, a smirk beneath his mask. "I've just never heard of a Genin-level Hokage. But, hey, there's a first for everything."

Naruto's glare turned quickly back into a smile. "Don't worry Kakashi-sensei. I'm going to replace you before you know it, so don't get comfortable behind that desk, you know."

Kakashi smiled and started walking down the tree-lined path and away from Konoha. "Well, come on now," he called behind him. As the other two jogged to catch up to him, he grimaced beneath his mask. If they knew how desperately he wanted Naruto to hurry up and take over for him, they probably wouldn't believe it.

Before they had walked a few yards from the gates of Konoha though, Naruto turned a skeptical sideways glance at Kakashi as they walked, before turning to face forward again. A few seconds later, squinting and frowning, he again looked at Kakashi as they walked along.

"Yes?" Kakashi asked, without turning.

"Kakashi-sensei, I know we were joking back there, but I do want to ask you something." Kakashi sighed inwardly, knowing what was about to come out of Naruto's mouth. "Why is Granny Tsunade still doing the majority of the Hokage duties? What's the delay with the inauguration ceremony?"

"Naruto," Kakashi began, his voice taking on a deep warning tone. Even though Naruto was a man almost eye-level with himself, Kakashi still saw him, in many ways, as that uncontrollable child from five years ago, the one he had to continually rein in. "I think you should focus your thoughts and energies on your own duties, rather than those of your superiors."

"Don't act all high and mighty!" Naruto scoffed. "We've been through too much together for you to act like that, and I'm practically Hokage myself! Come on, what's the issue, you know?"

"There is no issue, Naruto," Kakashi responded calmly. "This is an agreed transition of power. No one has died, no war is going on, and there is no need to rush or hurry things. It makes more sense to tie up all loose ends and ensure a smooth transition." He looked at Naruto with a raised eyebrow and continued, "And I might add that it will be the same when you take over, because I don't plan on dying in order for you to become the Seventh."

"Whatever, sensei," Naruto replied, and laughed, before his expression turned thoughtful. "I guess I'm fine with it taking as long as it takes if it means you get to come out on missions with us though."

And with that, he turned to Sakura with a teasing glance. "Soooo, what is this all about Sasuke being in the Land of Hot Water?" And ducking around Kakashi as Sakura aimed a good-natured fist at his head, laughing, Kakashi smiled involuntarily. It really was good to be out on a mission with them again. After spending months weighted down by his own self-destructive thoughts, it was refreshing to watch his former students distracted with laughing, yelling, and acting as much like kids as two battle-hardened seventeen-year-old warriors who had been to the end of the world and back again could.

The three shinobi kept a slow pace at first, warm April breezes humming through the canopy of trees above their heads. Kakashi was surprised that neither Sakura nor Naruto had yet remembered to ask where they were headed. But he assumed if they felt anything like he did, they were more content to be taking the dusty road out of Konoha, and to be free from the confines of the village for the first time in what felt like a lot longer than six months, than to worry yet about where they were going. The destination mattered much less than the journey.

But they had also spent the time since leaving Konoha's gates by catching up with each other and talking over each other excitedly, as if they hadn't actually seen each other almost every day since the end of the war.

After Naruto had tried and failed to avoid Sakura's punch, he shouted, "why are you beating me? You're the one hiding love letters from all of us!" Then he laughed and came back to her side. Kakashi saw him looking sidelong at Sakura, and smiled beneath his mask. She didn't look like she would punch him again, but with Sakura, you never really could tell. Anything could set her off. After walking a few paces in silence, Naruto spoke again, but in a gentler tone. "Really, Sakura-chan, tell me about Sasuke. I haven't heard from him since he left. What is he doing in the land of Hot Water?"

With this, Sakura's lips turned slightly upward at the corners, and she looked down at the ground, the pink rising to her cheeks. "You haven't heard from him?" she asked. Kakashi imagined that Naruto's simple statement had probably made her the happiest she'd been in the months since they had stood together at the Konoha gates after Sasuke's release and pardon, and watched him walk away.

Naruto smiled, "No, I guess he doesn't have time to send me love letters." Sakura jerked her head up to look at him, and narrowed her eyes, but the twinkle in his and the look on his face showed that he wasn't mocking her. Her expression softened to a smile. "Well, Sakura-chan?" he asked again.

She turned to look forward again, and sighed. "I don't really know the details of what he's doing," she said, and looked into the sunny distance with a squint. "He doesn't really write about that. He just. . .talks about the scenery and the people he meets." She looked up at Naruto again. Instead of laughing or teasing, his voice took on a somber tone as he asked, "And what does he say about it? How are they doing there . . . since they returned after the war?" Sakura exhaled, and smiled. "They seem to be doing good." She said. "He's helping them rebuild." She added.

They continued in this way, Sakura and Naruto talking while Kakashi remained silent and observant, and put about fifteen pleasant miles between themselves and Konoha, before Kakashi spoke again. He knew the next turn would take them to one of the many small villages sprinkled throughout the western Fire country, and it was as good a time as any to stop for dinner and discuss the mission, before picking up the pace. He wanted to enter the Land of Waterfalls that night. "There's an inn around the next corner. Let's stop there for dinner and brief the mission."

The mention of food tore Naruto's attention from Sakura, who had talked almost uninterruptedly for the last twenty minutes about the detailed genetic manipulations required in the construction of Naruto's soon-to-be prosthetic arm. Kakashi didn't think Naruto really understood more than one word out of five that she had said but could see that he was fascinated nonetheless. It really was amazing what modern medicine was able to accomplish these days.

"Oh, I think I know the place!" Naruto exclaimed. "Pervy Sage took me there once. There's a great bathing house there too."

"Well, we will not be stopping to bathe," Kakashi said, and turned an admonishing eye on Naruto. "We will only be stopping to eat and brief. And then we will proceed." And with that, they rounded the bend in the road, and the quaint houses and businesses and bustling street vendors of the small village came into sight.

Not far past the first few businesses, their doors open to the pleasant spring weather, the sign for the small inn could be seen swaying in the late afternoon breeze, and Naruto exclaimed, "Yep, this is the place." He grinned. "I remember being so annoyed at Pervy Sage for his so-called research here. It was one of the first places we stopped when we went looking for Granny Tsunade." He didn't seem to expect any comment and he didn't get any, as the three shinobi turned into the open restaurant door and sank into the first open booth on the right.

Within a few minutes, a server came to take their order, a process that took much longer than it should have, as Naruto had the unfortunate girl list every type of ramen twice, before he made up his mind. Sakura rolled her eyes at Kakashi as she handed the menus to the server and ordered her own food. "I'll have what she's having," Kakashi finished and watched the waitress walk away before turning to his two former students who sat across from him in the booth.

"So, Kakashi-sensei, where are we going? Who are we roughing up?" Naruto asked, and picked up his chopsticks to play with them between his fingers as he talked.

"We're going to Iwakagure." Kakashi stated. He opened his mouth to continue, but then paused. He had assumed he would brief the two during their walk and he now realized, as he looked around, that a potential scene could erupt in the quiet inn.

"Iwakagure?" both Sakura and Naruto said at once.

"Is Onoki-sama alright?" Sakura asked.

"That stubborn old man?" Naruto laughed. "Nothing could take him down." Naruto turned to Sakura. "Maybe he's pulled out his back flying into a wall and needs a good medic nin."

"Naruto, be serious for one second, can't you?" Sakura said, but giggled at the same time.

"Well, I see peace has softened the two of you." Kakashi said, and raised his eyebrows, before taking up the drinks menu to flip through it. "Why don't we just play this one by ear then, and see how it goes."

Sakura looked embarrassed. "Kakashi-sensei, we're sorry," she said, and narrowed her eyes at Naruto. "We take this very seriously. Is Onoki-sama alright?"

Kakashi looked up again, and turned from Sakura to Naruto and back again, to meet her green eyes. "Yes, Lord Onoki is fine. The village is fine. But something serious has happened, and we don't yet know what the possible ramifications are." This time he looked at Naruto, and focused squarely on Naruto's blue eyes. "Naruto, you in particular might find what I'm going to tell you. . .upsetting. I expect you," and then he turned to Sakura, "and you too, to listen calmly and quietly."

Both pairs of eyes across from him widened.

Kakashi continued, "A coup has taken place in the Land of Fangs," he began. "The shinobi leader there has assassinated the daimyo, slaughtered the civilian leadership, and taken control of the entire country."

"The Land of Fangs?" Naruto asked. "I've been there before, I think." His voice trailed off as he put the end of a chopstick to his lips, thinking. "Yeah! Pervy Sage and I had to . . ." he paused, a look of embarrassment suddenly crossing his face, "uh, we, uh. . . investigated a lead on the Akatsuki there once. Anyway, wow, yeah, I saw the Fang Daimyo then. I can't believe he's dead." He finished.

"You've been there?" Sakura asked. "You met the Fang Daimyo?"

"Well, no, not exactly," Naruto said, looking down, and rubbing the back of his head with his hand. "We, uh, it was more of a secret delivery mission so I only saw him from a distance." And then, as he looked increasingly uncomfortable, he continued, "Where is our food, already?" He turned to look around the corner of the booth.

Kakashi had no idea what he was talking about and didn't care.

"Naruto?" Sakura asked, leaning to try to look at him, as he turned away, apparently searching for their server. "Are you ok?"

Kakashi was beginning to believe neither of them were ok. Had six months of peace really made them this scatterbrained? "Yo, Naruto." Kakashi said. Naruto turned to look at him and Kakashi said in his usual detached voice, "When you find that waitress, can you order me a sake? I think I'll just relax instead of worrying about this mission. It looks like you two have it under control."

"Ah, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto said, a sheepish look on his face. "It was just that, you know, there was this mess with the delivery ninja service during that mission that Granny Tsunade had to smooth over when I got back, and the, uh, secret documents. I really can't talk about it."

Kakashi couldn't keep an incredulous scoff from escaping his lips. "Naruto, I haven't the slightest idea what you're talking about and I couldn't care less about the delivery nins or whatever secret documents you had to deliver. No one even asked you." He almost copied Sakura's eyeroll as he tossed the drinks menu aside. He then leaned his elbows on the table, and put his hands together to rest his chin on his index fingers. "Now, this is the last time I'm going to. . ."

"Ah! Ramen!" Naruto interrupted, and grinned, eyes wide, as the steaming bowl of pork ramen was placed in front of him.

"Naruto!" Sakura said, and slapped his arm. "Can't you see that Kakashi-sensei is trying to brief us on this mission?!"

But before either of them could say another word, Kakashi picked up his bowl and his chopsticks and got up from the table. "I'm going out to the patio," he said, and squeezed his eyes in a forced smile at them. "When you're done here, come find me." And with a wave of his hand, he turned, leaving Naruto and Sakura to sit on one side of the booth and enjoy their ramen without him.

"Nice job." He heard Sakura say to Naruto. "Do you realize that was the best chance we've had in five years to see beneath his mask?"

But he didn't hear Naruto's response, if the boy even had one through the ramen that was sure to already be in his mouth. Kakashi smiled and shook his head as he pushed the outer door open, and walked over to one of the small metal tables beside the restaurant's outer brick wall. He sunk into the white wrought iron chair with a relaxed sigh. The late afternoon sun was sinking below the horizon to his right, and the evening air promised to stay warmly comfortable. Two strings of twinkling white lights were loosely strung between the top of the inn's wall and the leafy trellis separating the patio from the road, creating a fairylike atmosphere in the small, hushed patio.

Kakashi pulled down his mask briefly to take a bite of his noodles. They wouldn't reach Iwa for another five days and he had plenty of time to discuss the mission between now and then. In fact, waiting until they were sprinting through the forest canopy between here and the border of the Land of Waterfalls would be a better time to brief the two knuckleheads anyway. At the very least, the exertion of the travel would dampen Naruto's reaction to the news of the tailed beast sealing, which could only be a good thing.

From the table next to him, Kakashi heard a soft giggle, and lifted his eyes to look at its source. A tiny red-headed woman was at the table, so close to the man next to her that she was almost in his lap. They were certainly lovers, as the man was whispering something in her ear, and she blushed and giggled before he lifted her chin and kissed her. Kakashi looked down at his meal again, took a bite, and then reached into his back pocket to pull out his book.

The sight of the lovers didn't bother him, as those things used to do. He had long ago come to the realization and accepted that his career and his duties would always take precedence over a romantic relationship. And as his hands had ripped out so many hearts and slit so many throats, he had also long ago concluded that those hands didn't deserve to touch anyone tenderly. But his conclusion didn't seem to matter much. He had been with many women over the years, and having never met anyone who made him feel like he was floating, or falling, or nauseous, or any of the other feelings associated with love that he read about in the hundreds of novels he had consumed over the years, he figured love wasn't in his destiny.

He flipped open to the part of chapter 3 where he had left off at the gates of Konoha, and immediately sunk into the familiar story. He already knew everything that would happen, every glance, every word, every touch, every kiss, but they were still as satisfying as the first time he had read them.

The sun had made its last fiery display, oranges and pinks bleeding across the sky below a curtain of clear deep blue when Naruto and Sakura came out of the restaurant laughing together. A glow of golden light and the noises of revelry, laughter, the clinking of glasses and silverware, and the din of many merry conversations spilled out into the quiet night with the two friends, and then were suddenly muted by the closing of the door behind them.

Naruto took a deep relaxed breath of the still night air, closed his eyes and stretched his arm above his head. He then followed Sakura to Kakashi's table and pulled up a chair to sit. The masked ninja closed his book and looked at the two faces across from him. "Ready?" he asked.

Sakura looked up at the twinkling lights above and exhaled in soft contentment. "This is a nice place," she said. "We're so close to home and yet it feels like we're in a different land. Can't we stay here tonight, and make up the time tomorrow?" Kakashi was about to immediately negative the request, but then paused, and thought more seriously about it. Another three hours would take them into the Land of Waterfalls, and its capitol city that bordered the Fire, and that would be the logical place to stop for the night. But he knew they could easily make up the three hours tomorrow, especially after a good night's sleep, and probably make better time being well-rested than they could now, relaxed and full of food.

"Sure, Sakura." He smiled. "I think that's fine."

"Really Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto shouted, and his face broke out into a boisterous grin. Kakashi couldn't help but smile broadly in return, as Naruto stood up so quickly in his excitement that he sent his chair toppling over behind him. As he turned hastily around to pick it up, Sakura laughed, an expression of happy surprise on her face. "Thank you Kakashi-sensei!"

Really, it was just like they were kids again, he thought. They were so ready to be pleased. The time he had spent with them today and then the past hour he had spent in the breezy evening with his book and a hot dinner had released months of stress from his shoulders. He knew it would all come back, sooner than he wanted, but in this moment, he felt like he wouldn't choose to be anywhere else in the world.

"Don't thank me," he said calmly. "The suggestion simply makes sense. Three hours after a good night's rest will cover more ground than three hours tonight. And staying here is safer than in the Land of Waterfalls."

"I suppose so," Sakura smiled and said in her cheerful mocking tone, "but don't try to tell me this place hasn't cast a spell of relaxation over you too, Sensei. I can see it in your eyes."

"Hot springs, here I come!" Naruto then shouted, and grabbed Sakura's hand.

At this, though, Kakashi held up his hand. "Not so fast, you two. Just because we're staying here tonight does not mean we won't be working. Mission briefing as soon as we get the room."

"Ughhhh." Naruto sighed, and sunk down into the now-righted chair. Sakura giggled and stood up. "Come on, let's go. Stop your complaining." And she hauled Naruto out of his chair toward the front desk.

As soon as they were in their rented room with their packs thrown on one of the beds, they all sprawled together in their own fashion on the other bed. Kakaski sat cross-legged against the pillows at the head, Sakura sat upright along the side, her long legs dangling over the edge as she faced Kakashi, and Naruto lay on his left side, his head propped up on his hand.

"I trust I can rely on your undivided attention now?" Kakashi asked. Both of them muttered in the affirmative. "Good. Because we have a lot to talk about."

He glanced down at Naruto and decided to simply plunge into the story and get it over with. "As I started to tell you earlier, we are going to Iwa."

"Yes, and you said that the Fang shinobi had overthrown their Daimyo and taken over their civilian government. But what does that have to do with the Land of Earth?" Sakura asked.

"I'm getting to that." Kakashi said patiently. "As you know," he said as he looked at Sakura, "and as you should know," he said as he looked at Naruto, "the Land of Fangs borders the Land of Earth on its north and the Land of Wind on its south. To the west is the Land of Mountains and to the east is the Land of Claws. That entire region between the Wind and Earth has been unstable for decades, with constant border squabbles and internal upheaval, so this incident, while monitored by the Tsuchikage, was originally viewed as an internal matter that would resolve itself in the same bloody fashion amongst the belligerents as all previous incidents in those lands have done.

However, after the coup, the newly created shinobi government began indiscriminately killing or imprisoning civilian members of the ousted government and either imprisoning or reducing to slavery all other non-shinobi within Fang borders."

"What!?" Sakura exclaimed.

"But why?" Naruto said at the same time.

"The reasons are not yet clear," Kakashi responded. "But after forcing the country's civilians into labor or imprisonment, the Fang shinobi forces then invaded the Land of Claws and began doing the same there. Currently, the Claw capitol of Toba is under siege. It's holding firm as of the last report, but that may have changed."

"Well, what are we supposed to do?" Naruto exclaimed.

"Having long had an unwritten agreement of mutual trade and protection with Earth Country," Kakashi continued, "the Claw requested help from Iwakagure. The Stone Village sent a detachment of shinobi as diplomatic messengers to broker peace talks with the new Fang government."

"And what did they learn?" Sakura asked, an interested look settled over her features.

"When the detachment arrived at Fushimi, the Fang capitol, it was ambushed by Fang shinobi."

"What?" both Sakura and Naruto shouted at the same time, Naruto springing up to a seated position.

Kakashi continued as if uninterrupted. "And during the battle, one of the Fang shinobi exhibited a tailed beast cloak."

Naruto kneeled on the bed, his face red, "What? That's not possible!" he shouted. "Kurama hasn't heard anything like that! How do you know what they saw was a beast cloak?"

Kakashi eyed Naruto calmly. "I'm only repeating what I learned from Iwa," he said in a warning tone to Naruto, "so we should not jump to conclusions or overreact until we know the full truth." He paused. "But I believe at least that much is true. The shinobi exhibiting the beast cloak was killed, and apparently, just before he died, another Fang shinobi somehow pulled the tailed beast out of the dying jinchuriki and sealed it in himself, right on the battlefield."

Naruto, who had been unable to remain still and who had become red with rage, now, surprisingly, had sunk to a seated position on the bed with his eyes closed and was quiet and calm. Kakashi realized that he must be talking internally with Kurama, and did not continue.

Their conversation came to an abrupt end, signaled by Naruto leaping up again, and this time pacing the floor. "It's Kokuo. The five-tails." He said. Kurama can't connect with him. He's silent."

"The five-tails?" Sakura asked.

"How did this happen?" Naruto shouted again, turning an almost accusing eye on Kakashi. "Who today has the ability to seal a tailed beast?"

"I don't know," Kakashi answered. "But you'll be able to ask the source directly in five days."

Now, both Sakura and Naruto stared at him, eyes widened. Naruto came to a sudden halt as he stared. "What do you mean?"

"The shinobi who sealed Kokuo inside himself was captured and is being held at the Iwa prison." Kakashi said, his voice remaining steady and calm.

"And you waited until now to tell me this?!" Naruto shouted. He leapt to the bed on the other side of the room and grabbed his pack. "Let's go, now!"

"No, Naruto," Kakashi said firmly. "After today, we will travel fast, but we are not changing our plans now." Countering the anger flaming in Naruto's eyes with his own calm ones, he said, "He's not going anywhere. We'll get there in five days and we'll question him when we get there."

Naruto didn't sit, but he let the pack slide back to the bed. "What has Iwa learned?" he asked.

"Nothing. They can't get anything out of him. It seems apparent that the Earth wants to avoid a declared war with the Fang, and as allies, we may need to get involved. But we need intelligence first. That's why we were requested. They need you to attempt to communicate with the . . . with Kokuo. We will use this method, or any other, to attempt to get the intelligence we need from the prisoner. But if we cannot get any information, we'll need to transport him to Konoha so that the intel division can undertake more complex questioning there."

"Oh, we're not taking him back to Konoha." Naruto said, his anger making his voice gravelly. "I'm going to kill him."


End file.
